


By Your Side

by AylahGrace



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Detective Jensen Ackles, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28526376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AylahGrace/pseuds/AylahGrace
Summary: When Jared unexpectedly goes into labor while his husband is at work, Jensen has to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Otherwise, drug dealers are the least of his problems...
Relationships: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Comments: 22
Kudos: 412





	1. Chapter 1

“Do you _have_ to go?”

Sighing, Jensen turns around to face his husband. Jared is sprawled out in the middle of their large bed, legs tangled with the humongous pregnancy pillow he insisted on having, and munches on a peanut butter bar.

“We’ve talked about this, Jay,” Jensen reminds him. “I’ve been working this case for almost a year. I can’t drop out _now_.”

Jared purses his lips. “What if I go into labor?”

Jensen leans against the dresser and crosses his arms over his chest. “Do you _feel_ like you’re going into labor?” he asks with an amused smirk.

“Well, no,” Jared replies and looks down at his _very_ round belly. “But the doc said it could be any day now.”

“And I’ll be right by your side when that happens,” Jensen promises. Walking over to the bed, he drops forward on all fours and crawls up to where his husband is sitting. “However, right _now_ , you’re more likely to develop gestational diabetes than go into labor,” he says—only half joking—and gives the sugary candy in Jared’s hand a pointed look.

Jared huffs. “She’s hungry!”

“Sure, blame the baby,” Jensen laughs. Then, in a move that’s too unexpected and fast for Jared, he dives forward takes a huge bite from the peanut butter bar.

“Hey!” Jared yelps and smacks his arm. “That’s mine! Go get your own.”

Laughing, Jensen gets off the mattress and out of Jared’s reach. When Jared had first started bringing food to bed, Jensen was absolutely against it. He didn’t want to deal with crumbs and stains all over the sheets, but he realized pretty quickly that he stood no chance against his six foot four, hormonal, pregnant husband.

A car honks outside and Jensen quickly swallows the food in his mouth. “That’s Chris,” he announces and reaches for his phone and wallet. Next, he grabs his service weapon and shoves it in the holster on his hip.

When he turns around to say goodbye to Jared, he snorts when he sees the childlike pout on his face. “Seriously?” he laughs. “You’re _pouting_ now?”

“Maybe…” Jared shrugs and looks up at his husband with a hopeful smile. “Is it doing anything to change your mind?”

“Not really,” Jensen chuckles. “But it _is_ pretty adorable.”

Before his husband decides to tie him up to prevent him from going to work, Jensen leans down for a goodbye kiss. He cups his husband’s cheek with one hand, while his other one settles on the side of his belly.

“Be careful out there,” Jared murmurs.

“Always,” Jensen smiles and kisses him again. “Don’t wait up. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Jared grabs his wrist when he’s about to pull away and looks him in the eyes with a serious expression. “One last thing.”

Dramatic pause.

“Can you grab a pizza on your way home?”

Jensen rolls his eyes. “I’ll be home at like four in the morning, Jay.”

Jared shrugs his shoulder. “So?”

“Fine,” Jensen laughs. “But don’t come complaining to me when you get terrible heartburn again.”

“Deal,” Jared agrees and grins like an excited kid on Christmas morning.

Chris honks again and Jensen quickly bows down so he’s on eyelevel with Jared’s belly. “See you later, sweet pea.”

Before Chris chooses to drive off without him, Jensen hurries out of the room and jogs down the stairs. He makes sure the door is locked behind him and then walks to where his partner has parked his truck.

“Finally!” Chris grunts when he opens the door and gets in. “One more minute and I’d have left without you.”

“No, you wouldn’t have,” Jensen chuckles as he buckles himself in.

“Try me.”

Three years ago, Jensen’s first partner, Jim Beaver, retired. After a lot of back and forth with Captain Morgan, he eventually got partnered up with Chris. For the first six months, they couldn’t stand each other. They were arguing almost constantly and their co-workers even placed bets on which one of them would throw in the towel first.

But then Chris’ wife unexpectedly passed away in a car accident. When he returned to work—too soon according to Captain Morgan and everyone else at the precinct—Chris was dreadful to be around. He yelled and shouted and lashed out. He took it so far as to throw a mug against the wall, shattering it and damaging the wood panels. While most people avoided him and didn’t dare to get too close, Jensen didn’t take any of his bullshit. Instead, he pushed back.

Their feud reached its peak on a Monday.

Looking back now, neither of them can remember what it was they were arguing about, but it was _bad_. The people around them had actually been scared that one of them would pull his weapon.

However, in the blink of an eye, the mood changed drastically.

In the midst of their screaming match, Chris suddenly broke down. As if his strings were cut, he collapsed to the ground and wept. Jensen, without thinking, yanked him back to his feet and hugged him. They stayed like that for a long time; Chris sobbing into his shoulder and Jensen just holding him.

From that day forward, they got along. Neither one of them has said it out loud, but they would both catch a bullet for the other.

“Hey, Earth to Ackles!”

Jensen startles. “What?”

“Are you sleeping with your eyes open? I’m not very experienced with having a baby, but I’m pretty sure you won’t get any more sleep once she’s actually _here_ ,” Chris says, while glancing between him and the road ahead.

Jensen sighs. “I know. It’s just… Jared can’t get comfortable anymore when lying down, which means he can’t sleep, which means _I_ can’t sleep.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” Jensen mutters. Then he smiles. “But, yesterday, when we were in bed, she moved around like crazy. It was insane! We stayed up ‘til like three, just watching Jared’s stomach.” He smiles happily when he thinks about how she kicked and squirmed. “Man, I can’t wait to hold her.”

Reaching over, Chris slaps him on the shoulder. “Alright, let’s go put those assholes behind bars so you can go back home, Papa Bear.”

Jared is bored. Staring at the ceiling of their bedroom, he thinks about what he could do to pass the time. It’s getting dark outside already and he could technically just go to bed and try to fall asleep, but the baby is wide awake and currently using his insides for kickbox practice. There’s definitely _no_ sleep in his near future.

A twinge in his bladder reminds him that he hasn’t peed in almost an hour, which is pretty long considering. With a tired sigh, he rolls over and sits up. Just the act of sitting up requires more effort and energy than he wants to admit.

In the bathroom, he notices the full laundry basket and purses his lips. He wouldn’t say he was a _slob_ before the pregnancy, but he certainly hadn’t cared about a bunch of smelly gym clothes or dirty socks in a corner. That, along with the dishes he just put in the sink instead of the dishwasher three feet away, drove Jensen absolutely insane. Lately, however, Jared has become a stickler for order. Jensen calls it _nesting_ , which makes Jared want to punch him in the face. He’s not an animal!

After emptying his bladder and washing his hands, he eyes the hamper again. He knows he’s not supposed to lift anything heavy, but the dirty clothes are a thorn in his side. He needs them taken care of. Their daughter needs a clean and organized environment.

Alright, okay. Maybe he _is_ kind of nesting.

With a grunt, he picks up the weighty laundry basket and carries it down the hall to the washer. His back spasms and he questions his decisions halfway through, but there’s no going back now.

In the small, closet-like room where they keep their washer and dryer, he turns the hamper over. Underwear, socks, shirts, pants and parts of Jensen’s police unform tumble out, covering the entire floor. With a grunt, Jared crouches down and begins sorting everything by color.

He’s just shoved the first load into the washer, when the pain in his lower back wraps around his sides and makes his abdomen spasm. With a grimace, he rubs his belly. He bites his lip when he realizes that there’s _probably_ a reason why pregnant people aren’t supposed to carry around heavy stuff.

After adding laundry detergent and turning the machine on, he closes the sliding door and heads for the living room to relax. His steps falter when he passes the kitchen. He remembers Jensen saying something about freshly baked muffins.

With a grin, he opens the pantry and reaches for the box from their favorite local bakery. With that in one hand and a glass of milk in the other, he sits down in front of the TV and turns on the show he and Jensen started watching last week. He’s not supposed to watch an episode without his husband, but what his husband doesn’t know won’t hurt him…

Jensen hears Chris rummage around in his locker, while he slides his bulletproof vest over his torso and tugs it into place. They’re the only people currently in the locker room, which is a blessing. Tonight’s important and they can’t afford to mess up. Not after months of hard work, long days and even longer nights. They need to be focused and have their head in the game.

Closing his locker and leaning against it, Jensen scrubs a hand down his face. The plan is good, he _knows_ it’s good. He’s the one who came up with it. But there’s still this niggling voice in the back of his head that wants him to believe that he missed something important and that everything is going to fall apart.

Next to him, Chris slams his own locker closed and mirrors Jensen’s pose. “Tell me the plan again, Detective?” he requests, as if he’s feeling his partner’s need to make sure everything is airtight and there’s no room for errors.

“The shipment is supposed to come in at midnight. There are roadblocks in place on every street surrounding the warehouse and the closest highway is completely blocked off. We have an officer positioned at every single entrance and exit point of the building and the sewers are being closely monitored with thermal cameras,” Jensen repeats the plan he has explained dozens of times over the last few days. “As soon as the shipment arrives and they start to unload it, we get in. Harris and Olsson take the back, we’re the front. Speight is on the roof, facing east, with his sniper rifle. We have Benedict and Cortese in the surveillance van and Morgan coordinating everything back at the station. Our main target is Mark Pellegrino, the head of the entire organization. We need to take him in _alive_.”

Chris whistles. “Not bad. Did you memorize that word-by-word, you nerd?”

Jensen rolls his eyes and punches his partner in the arm. “Oh, shut up.”

“I’m just teasing you,” Chris chuckles. He turns around and picks up his service weapon from where he put it down on the bench. Then he grabs his bulletproof vest and slips it on as well. “As soon as this is over, I’m taking a few days off.”

“Agreed,” Jensen nods. He checks his own gun, then counts the bullets he’s got left. They need to make a pitstop by the ammo room before heading out. There’s always a chance that the bad guys surrender willingly, but with drug rings that’s rarely ever the case. Pellegrino has left a trail of bodies in his wake and Jensen isn’t naïve enough to believe that just because they’re police, he’ll change that habit.

“Ready to kick some ass?” Chris asks with a smug grin.

Looping the earpiece Genevieve Cortese is later going to set up around his neck, Jensen nods. “Let’s go.”

Jared is on his third episode—which Jensen can _never_ _ever_ know about—when he feels a sharp tug in his abdomen. He jerks, accidentally spilling some of the popcorn in his lap, and presses his palm to the underside of his belly. With a wince, he looks at the now empty muffin box on the table. He probably shouldn’t have eaten _all_ of them.

Another stab of pain catches him by surprise and this one is even sharper than the one before. He briefly wonders if he caused himself some internal damage by doing laundry, but quickly discards that idea again. He’s just eaten too much. That’s it. No big deal.

Deciding to just go lay down and sleep it off, he turns off the TV and heaves himself to his feet. He’s about to bend over to clear the table, when his belly tightens all over. There’s an odd, audible pop about a second later, before a swell of water gushes down his legs. Wide-eyed and rooted to the spot, he stares down at the growing puddle on the hardwood floor.

Uh-oh.


	2. Chapter 2

Jensen shifts in his seat and gropes around for the cup of what used to be scolding hot coffee. It’s probably cold by now, but he could care less about that. It’s still caffein.

Next to him, Chris is picking at a loose thread on his pants. They’ve been sitting in the car for almost three hours and, so far, nothing has happened. They’re aware of the nine people that are currently inside the warehouse, but the anticipated shipment hasn’t arrived yet, even though it’s half past one. Without it, they don’t have enough evidence to put Pellegrino away for good. The unexpected change of plans puts everyone on edge and Jensen feels like he’s about to crawl out of his skin.

The ringing of a cellphone makes both of them jump and Jensen quickly pulls it out of his pocket. He’s got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when he sees his husband’s name on the screen. It’s the middle of the night and even _if_ Jared is still awake, he knows Jensen is working and can’t talk. With a lump in his throat, he accepts the call. “Jay?”

_“I’m in labor.”_

The words hit Jensen like a ton of bricks and he straightens up so fast, he almost bumps his head on the roof of the car. It can’t be. It’s not _supposed_ to be. “You’re messing with me, right? Please tell me you’re messing with me!” he blurts out, eyes snapping to Chris when their radio suddenly jumps to life and they hear Speight’s voice.

 _“Do I_ sound _like I’m kidding?!”_ Jared snaps, followed by a pained moan. _“I think my water broke, and I’ve been having really bad contractions.”_

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Jensen tries to divide his attention between his husband and whatever is being said on the radio. He sees Chris stiffen and knows they’re going to have to move.

“Jared, are you sure it’s contractions and not—?”

 _“What part of_ my water broke _did you not understand?!”_ Jared yells, frustrated.

Chris tugs at his sleeve and whispers, “We’ve got movement by the northern exit, Jen. We gotta go.”

Crap.

Jensen stares helplessly at his partner. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. He is supposed to arrest Pellegrino, close the case, go back home and wait with his husband for their daughter’s arrival. Now everything is messed up and Jensen can’t be in two places at the same time.

He takes a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. “Jay, listen to me,” he says and briefly closes his eyes. “Call Chad and have him take you to the hospital.”

He hears Jared suck in a breath. _“Jen—”_

“I’ll meet you there, okay?”

Jared’s breathing is shaky and Jensen feels like an asshole for not being by his side. However, there’s no way he can leave now. “I gotta go, but I’ll be there as soon as I can, I promise.”

Jared exhales shakily. _“You better be,”_ he warns.

Chris nudges him again, lips set in a firm line. “We have to go, man.”

Jensen pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling torn and helpless. “I love you, Jay.”

_“I love you, too.”_

With a lump in his throat, he ends the call and shoves the phone back in his pocket. His hands are trembling and his heart is thumping wildly inside his chest.

Chris eyes him warily. “You good?”

“Yeah,” Jensen mutters and runs a hand through his short hair. Jared is in labor. Now. Right now. Holy shit.

A hand on his shoulder grounds him and he glances at Chris, who looks pretty unconvinced. “Jen, man, don’t freak out on me now. I need you clearheaded.”

Laughing nervously, Jensen nods his head. Chris is right. He can’t have a preparental freak-out now. After a deep breath, he pulls his gun out of its holster and checks the clip. “Let’s do this.”

Chris smirk and claps him on the back. “That’s my boy.”

Jared is stunned. His damp cotton pants are clinging to his legs and the water that is still dripping down the lower part of his body is slowly soaking into the expensive carpet they bought last Christmas. Staring dumbly at the growing patch, he doesn’t know what to do.

Maybe it was naïve of him to believe that he’d go into labor with Jensen right by his side. He should have known—or at least _prepared for the possibility_ —that their daughter would decide to come when his husband is at work. However, that prospect never even crossed his mind, because Jensen _promised_ he’d be there.

But he’s not.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Jared glances back at his phone. His fingers are trembling when he opens his contacts and scrolls down to his best friend’s number. He should feel bad about waking Chad in the middle of the night, but his abdomen is already tightening again and he knows the next contraction is just around the corner. He needs to go to the hospital _now_.

It rings three times and Jared closes his eyes. He _really_ doesn’t want to take a cab to the hospital and there’s no way he can drive himself.

 _“Yeah?”_ a sleepy voice suddenly mutters and Jared relaxes a bit. Thank god.

“Chad, hey. You awake?” Jared says awkwardly and winces at his own stupid question. It’s 1:30 AM on a Wednesday.

 _“I am_ now _,”_ Chad replies, followed by a loud yawn. “What’s up, dude? Everything okay?”

“Uhm, I guess?” he stammers and grimaces when his abdomen cramps up again. His free hand rubs over his tight belly and he tries to breathe slowly through the contractions.

 _“Jay?”_ Chad asks, sounding more awake than before. _“What’s going on?”_

Jared laughs nervously. “I kinda need you to drive me to the hospital.”

 _“Wait, what?_ Now _?”_ Chad asks. _“What happened? Are you okay? Where’s Jensen?”_

The assault of questions makes Jared’s head spin. He really doesn’t have the patience to do this right now. “Can you please just pick me up? I’m sort of having contractions and I could _really_ use some painkillers right about now.”

Jared hears the squeaking of Chad’s bed, followed by the rustling of clothes. _“I’ll be there in ten.”_

Jensen curses when a bullet slams into the wall just inches from his head. Ducking down with his gun clutched in his hands, he glances to his left where Chris is crouched behind a wooden crate ten feet away. Their eyes meet and after years of working together, their silent communication skills are excellent.

After a curt nod, Chris pops up from behind his hiding spot and shoots a bunch of bullets toward the shooter, who is hiding somewhere just out of view.

Taking advantage of it, Jensen gets to his feet and runs across the warehouse to where Danneel and Ty are taking cover behind a half wall. He falls to his knees next to Danneel, who is pressing a piece of fabric against a wound on Ty’s upper arm. There’s a lot of blood, but it doesn’t look like the bullet has hit any major arteries.

“How you holding up?” he asks with a smile, while he takes a look at the wound. It’s going to need stitches.

Ty gives him a pained smile. “Had worse,” he drawls.

They flinch when a gunshot hits a glass panel right above them and Jensen throws his arms up to protect his head and face. The shots are suddenly closer, making him believe that the shooter has moved, and he shoves Danneel down to cover her. He winces when some of the shards cut his arms and back, but he’s got bigger issues now.

They managed to arrest most of Pellegrino’s people, but two managed to get away. One of them is currently shooting at them with a powerful rifle and the other one is being tracked outside by two officers. With all the precautions they’ve taken, he’s not going to get far.

The much bigger problem is Pellegrino. Everyone assured Jensen that he hasn’t left the building yet, which means he’s still got to be around here somewhere. Not knowing they guy’s whereabouts is making Jensen uneasy.

Jensen’s earpiece is crackling to life and he hears Chris’ breathless voice, _“I’m running low on ammo, man. We need a plan to take out that asshole with the gun. We’re sitting ducks!”_

Jensen grits his teeth. Carefully, he peaks around the corner and squints at the general direction from where the shots are coming from. He narrows his eyes when he catches a glint that reflects off metal.

“He’s on top of those shipping containers,” he announces to his team. Then he turns to Danneel and Ty. “Distract him from this side. I’ll go and climb the containers from the back.”

Before either one of them can respond, Chris bellows in his ear again, _“Are you insane?! Climbing up there will completely expose you and we have no visual on Pellegrino!”_

“What other choice do we have?!” Jensen yells back. “If we don’t end this now, we’ll run out of bullets in no time. SWAT is still a few blocks away.”

When Chris doesn’t respond, Jensen knows he’s won. The plan isn’t bulletproof—no pun intended—but it’s the best they’ve got. If they take out the sniper, then they have enough time to look for Pellegrino.

Counting down from three, Jensen waits for Danneel and Ty to shoot their weapons as a distraction. As soon as the gunfire from their perp ceases, Jensen pops out from behind the wall and dashes to the large containers. His heart is hammering in his chest as he pulls himself up and he really hopes his stupid plan is going to work. He ignores the pull in his lower back and keeps going.

Carefully looking over the edge of the container, Jensen finally lays eyes on the man who’s been shooting at them. He looks frantic and is covered in sweat. He’s is bending down to reload his rifle and Jensen seizes the opportunity. “Hey!” he shouts and smirks when the man jumps in shock.

The guy whirls around, weapon drawn, but Jensen is quicker. One well-aimed shot and he crumples to the ground, unmoving.

Exhaling the breath he was unintentionally holding, Jensen lowers his gun and speaks into his earpiece, “Target down.” He jumps down from the shipping containers and checks his bullets. “Let’s go find Pellegrino and end this.”

Jensen looks up.

He freezes.

“You guys looking for me?” Pellegrino purrs with a dark smirk on his face. He’s got a gun in his right hand and his arm is calm and steady as he points it at Jensen’s chest. “You know, that guy you just shot? He was my brother.”

Jensen tenses. This isn’t going to end well.

Pellegrino shrugs nonchalantly, not the slightest bit impressed. “So, the way _I_ see it; you killed my brother, which means I’m going to kill _you_.”

Everything slows down and Jensen’s eyes widen when he watches Pellegrino tighten his trigger finger. In one last attempt to prevent the inevitable, Jensen brings up his own gun and shoots.

Two gunshots ring out just half a second apart and two bodies hit the ground.

Jensen can’t breathe. His lungs refuse to expand and he’s struggling to suck in air. It feels like an elephant is sitting on his chest.

All sounds are muffled and he can just barely make out some distorted shouts and hollers. When he opens his eyes, everything is blurry and he can’t focus on anything. Everything is spinning.

Suddenly, hands are on him. Someone taps his cheek; once, twice, then a gentle slap. “Jen! Goddamnit, open your eyes. _Jensen_!” someone yells.

The voice sounds familiar and Jensen forces himself to pay attention to it. Rolling his head to the left, he squints up at a blurry, yet recognizable, face. “Chris…” he croaks, followed by a dry cough. Pain explodes in his chest and he groans.

Chris cups his cheek. “Easy, easy. Ambulance is on its way.”

The fog in Jensen’s mind slowly begins to let up and he shakes his head. “No. No ambulance…”

Chris clenches his jaw. “You’ve been _shot_ —”

“Vest,” Jensen interrupts with a tired smile. “It hit the vest. I’m fine. Pellegrino?”

“Alive,” Chris replies curtly. He’s too focused on Jensen and he doesn’t look convinced, because catching a bullet to the chest—even if it’s only in the vest—is _extremely_ painful.

However, Jensen doesn’t have time for arguments. He’s got a pregnant husband at the hospital who’s ready to give birth to their daughter. “Help me up,” he huffs and despite looking unhappy, Chris hauls him to his feet.

The world spins and Jensen stumbles, only staying upright because Chris steadies him. He gives his partner a sheepish smile. “Well, that sucked,” he grunts, fingers brushing over the indent the bullet has left. It’s still stuck in there and Jensen sighs when he realizes that he’ll need to put in a request for a new one. He really liked this one.

“You sure you’re okay?” Chris asks again, eyeing him top to bottom.

Jensen wipes sweat off his forehead and nods. He looks down at his chest. He’s probably going to have a nice, colorful bruise by tomorrow, but at least he’s still breathing.

Then he looks at Chris and smiles. “Would you mind giving me a ride to the hospital? I think Jared is upset enough as it is.”

Chris returns the smile with a nod and wraps an arm around Jensen’s shoulders. “Sure thing, man,” he agrees and walks them past the other officers that are now swarming the place and toward the parked car.

Jared is freaking out. He’s drenched in sweat, in an awful amount of pain and frustrated beyond belief. Gripping the clean sheets at his sides, he glares at the doctor with pure venom in his eyes. “No!”

Doctor Rhodes sighs. “Jared, I understand that this is very difficult, but I really need you to start pushing—”

“No!”

Growing frustrated as well, the doctor shifts her gaze to Chad, who is sitting awkwardly in a plastic chair next to the hospital bed. He looks completely lost and horrified, and Jared would laugh if he weren’t in so much pain.

Coming to the same conclusion, Doctor Rhodes looks back at Jared. “Jared—”

“I said _no_ ,” he repeats himself. “I’m not doing this without my husband!”

The doctor huffs out a breath and throws up her hands. Katie, the nurse standing by her side, shifts uncomfortably and glances helplessly between the doctor and Jared.

Doctor Rhodes is just about to say something else, when the door flies open, making everyone jump. Right away, the doctor moves in between her patient and the person who just barged in. “Hey, you can’t just—!”

“Jensen!” Jared cries. “Thank god!”

Jensen quickly sidesteps Doctor Rhodes and heads straight for Jared. He looks terrible; unkempt, sweaty and still wearing his work clothes, including the vest, but he’s still the most beautiful thing Jared has ever seen. A sight for sore eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Jensen pants, completely out of breath. “I’m here, okay? I’m here now,” he mutters and leans down to kiss him. Chad choses that moment to quietly slip out of the room, probably relieved that he doesn’t have to be the one getting his hand broken while Jared pushes.

Torn between wanting to hug his husband and punch him in the face, Jared just grips his arm, refusing to let go. “As soon as this baby is out, I’m going to fucking _murder_ you!”

Jensen chuckles. “Got it.”

Doctor Rhodes clears her throat. “Since everyone is here now; let’s do this.”

Jensen grins and kisses Jared’s forehead. “Let’s have a baby.”

Half an hour later, Ella Jay Padalecki-Ackles is born. Jared slumps back against the cushion and sobs when he hears his daughter’s first cry. It’s loud and high-pitched, and nothing has ever sounded more beautiful to his ears.

With tears in his eyes, he watches Katie clear her airways before swaddling her in a pink blanket and gently placing her down on Jared’s chest. He knows Doctor Rhodes is still working _down there_ , but he only has eyes for his daughter. She’s absolutely perfect.

“Jen, look at what we created…” he whispers, completely awed by their tiny miracle. Her eyes are a special kind of blue and Jared assumes that they’re going to turn either green or hazel as time passes. Her hair is blond, maybe with a slight reddish hue; definitely Jensen. Her facial features are all Jared, though. She looks like an exact replica of what he looked like as a newborn.

“She’s perfect,” Jensen murmurs quietly.

Jared kisses the tip of her tiny button nose, unable to believe that she’s theirs to keep. “Do you want to hold her?” he asks his husband and looks up. Jensen looks happy, but there’s a weird frown on his face. It’s an expression Jared can’t quite place. “Jen?” he asks again when his husband fails to respond.

Jensen blinks his eyes, swallows, and lifts his gaze to meet Jared’s. “What?”

“Would you like to hold our daughter?” Jared repeats, speaking slower. Something about Jensen suddenly seems off. He can’t really put his finger on it, but he just seems distant all of a sudden, as if his thoughts are miles away.

Jensen looks down at their daughter, then back up at Jared. He blinks again. “I… I think I need to sit down.”

“Whoa, Jen!” Jared yelps when his husband unexpectedly sways on his feet. He glances at Katie, who’s already picked up on something and is moving to Jensen’s side.

Looking back at his husband, Jared is concerned to see that his face is extremely pale all of a sudden. It hasn’t been like that before, right? He can’t remember. He was too focused on pushing out Ella.

“Jen, hey, are you okay?” he tries and squeezes his husband’s arm. “Don’t tell me your daughter’s birth was too graphic for you,” he says, but the joke falls flat.

Jensen doesn’t laugh. All he manages is a weak smile.

Then his eyes roll back and he collapses.

“Jensen!” Jared shouts and attempts to sit up. His sore body protests and Doctor Rhodes holds him down with a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Stay,” she orders, before she puts on a fresh pair of gloves and hurries around the bed to kneel down next to Katie. She’s leaning over Jensen’s body, partly hiding him from Jared’s view. He wants to scream.

Katie suddenly sucks in a breath and leans back. She lifts up a hand and stares at it. It’s covered in red. “That’s blood.”

Doctor Rhodes’ face darkens. “His vest, get his vest off,” she orders and together they manage to undo the clasps of Jensen’s bulletproof vest. It falls away easily and Jared holds his breath as the doctor’s hand skim over his husband’s torso.

Doctor Rhodes’ prodding stops when she reaches Jensen’s lower right side. She frowns, then carefully peels back his black shirt.

Jared stops breathing.

Blood. There’s blood _everywhere_. Concealed by his black clothes and thick vest, Jensen was walking around with a heavily bleeding wound.

“Call for backup, _now_!” the doctor shouts and Katie flies into motion.

Jared’s head is filled with white noise and he’s barely able to keep track of what is happening. His eyes are glued to his husband’s pale face and he feels like his heart is being ripped out of his chest. Jensen isn’t moving. Jared can’t even tell if he’s still breathing.

“…gunshot wound.”

“Through and through.”

“…lost a lot of blood…”

“…BP is dropping!”

Tears are streaming down Jared’s face as he watches the staff move Jensen’s limp body onto a gurney. His husband’s head rolls lifelessly and Jared feels like he’s going to throw up.

“Don’t do this, Jen,” he sobs. “Don’t do this! You promised me! You _promised_ me you’d be careful!”

A large part of his heart is leaving the room along with Jensen when he’s whisked away. With tears streaming down his face, Jared can do nothing more than stare at the now empty spot where his husband stood not two minutes ago.

Clutching their peacefully sleeping daughter to his chest, he prays to anyone who’s willing to listen that Jensen is going to be okay. He can’t lose him. Not now, not ever.


	3. Chapter 3

Waking up feels like swimming through thick mud. Jensen’s entire body feels sluggish and lethargic, and everything that’s going through his head is slipping through his mind like sand through fingers. He can’t hold onto a single thought.

His first sense to return is hearing. There’s a voice he recognizes but can’t quite place. He’s aware that he should know who it belongs to.

Straining his ears, he focuses on the humming until it becomes quiet murmuring and eventually full words. He should understand what is being said, but he can’t for the life of him comprehend a single sentence.

Someone touches his arm and he sucks in a quiet breath.

“Jen, you waking up, man?”

Chris. It’s Chris.

In a move that requires much more effort than acceptable, Jensen peels his eyes open. Everything is blurry and he blinks a couple of times to clear his vision. He’s not quite sure where he is, but he’s definitely not at home or at the police station.

Slowly, he rolls his head toward Chris’ voice. Even though he’s still not fully with it, Jensen realizes that his best friend looks like absolute shit. “Did somebody die…?” he mumbles with a tired chuckle.

Chris doesn’t laugh. His mouth remains a grim line.

Swallowing against his parched throat, Jensen drops the joke and tries to remember what happened. It seems serious.

There’s an influx of memories in his brain, but nothing sticks. It’s frustrating and doesn’t help the dull headache that’s pounding behind his eyes.

Clearing his dry throat, he looks at Chris. “What happened?”

Chris sighs wearily and rubs his hands together. “You almost got yourself killed, is what happened.”

Jensen blinks. “What?” he slurs. He wills his hazy and chaotic memories to settle down and tries to focus on the last thing he remembers.

The case. He remembers the case. They had intel about an incoming shipment and went on a stakeout by a warehouse to catch Pellegrino red-handed. And they _did_ catch him, if he remembers correctly. “Pellegrino. Is he—”

“In custody with a bullet in his shoulder,” Chris confirms with a hint of pride in his voice.

Jensen laughs, but stops short when he feels a sharp stab of pain in his lower back and abdomen. With a grunt, he presses a hand to his stomach. “If _I_ shot _Pellegrino_ , why am _I_ the one feeling like crap?”

“Because _Pellegrino_ isn’t the one who got shot in the _back_.”

Jensen stares at his partner in disbelief. Slowly, his hand inches underneath the thin blanket and his fingers brush over the throbbing spot on his right side. A thick piece of gauze covers most of his abdomen and he winces. “I got shot…?” he asks, still confused. He doesn’t remember that.

“Yeah,” Chris confirms with a tired nod. “Probably when you pulled that idiot stunt and ran across the warehouse without proper cover. Forensics found blood— _your_ blood—behind the crates where Danneel and Ty were hiding. He’s fine, by the way.”

Jensen’s stunned. He never felt anything. Sure, he was sore after the whole ordeal, but he didn’t realize he’d been _shot_. How had he not noticed that?

Chris, as if being able to read his mind, says, “You were distracted, Jen, and that almost cost you your life. Look, I get that you wanted to be by Jared’s side, but you almost _died_ , man. Thank God it didn’t hit anything vital.”

His husband’s name stirs another memory in Jensen’s head and he frowns.

Suddenly, everything slams back into place and he lurches off the bed.

“Jared!” he gasps, struggling against Chris’ hands that are trying to hold him down. “Where is he? Is he—”

“Calm down!” Chris hisses. “Jared is _fine_. He’s with Ella.”

The fight leaves his body and Jensen slumps back against the pillow. His head is spinning and he feels out of breath. The ache in his gut and back has turned into a raging fire and he feels like he’s going to throw up.

However, there’s an image in his head that makes all of that irrelevant.

 _Ella_.

He remembers his daughter’s perfect face, her perfect hands and perfect little nose. He smiles as he fights his body’s ability to stay awake. He’s a dad now.

A wave of exhaustion washes over him and before he realizes it, he drifts off again.

The next time Jensen wakes up, he feels another presence nearby. He slowly opens his eyes and blinks at the blurry shape next to him.

When his husband’s handsome face swims into view, he smiles. “Hey,” he croaks and reaches out his hand. An IV line is attached to the back of his hand and Jared carefully closes his fingers around Jensen’s without touching it.

“Hey,” Jared replies. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” he says. “What about you? Should you even be out of bed?”

Jared ducks his head a bit. “I might have snuck out…”

“Of course you did…” Jensen says and gives his husband’s hand a light squeeze. Although his body is still weighted down by what is probably a heavy dose of pain meds and other things, he sees the strain in Jared’s eyes. He sees worry, fear, pain and a bit of anger. Jensen swallows. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“You better be,” Jared says quietly and swallows thickly. “I thought I was going to lose you…”

Jensen tightens his fingers and forces their eyes to meet. When Jared is looking at him, he promises, “I’m _never_ going to leave you.”

“Us. You’re never going to leave _us_ ,” Jared corrects.

Jensen blames it on the medication that is running through his system, because only when his husband looks down does he notice the pink blanket he is cradling to his chest. Emotions are tightening Jensen’s throat when the baby wiggles around and lets out a soft mewl. “Can I hold her?”

Jared smiles. “Of course,” he says and slowly gets to his feet with a wince. He shifts Ella in his arms before bending down and carefully placing her on Jensen’s chest. Apparently, getting moved around so much isn’t to her liking. Screwing up her tiny face, she lets out a few unhappy cries. Jensen shushes her softly and kisses her head. “She has your loud voice,” he jokes.

“Ha, ha. Funny,” Jared snorts.

“I can’t believe we’re parents now…” Jensen murmurs, unable to tear his eyes away from their little girl. She’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. She’s perfect.

Before Jared can respond, there’s a knock on the door. Doctor Rhodes strides into the room with a huff and gives Jared a stern look. “I don’t remember allowing you to get out of bed.”

Jared blushes. “I was just taking Ella on a little stroll…”

“Right,” the doctor says and rolls her eyes, but there’s definitely amusement in her voice. She looks from Jared to Ella and smiles. “How about I go check if we can arrange for your bed to get moved into this room.”

“That would be really awesome, doc, thank you,” Jared says and gives her a grateful nod.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Doctor Rhodes warns and stabs a finger at him. “As soon as you’re in bed again, I’m going to check if you ripped any stitches.”

Jared cringes and shifts uncomfortably in the chair he’s sitting in. He looks mortified. Jensen can’t stop the laugh that wants to escape and he lets out a snort.

Jared glares at him. “ _You_ have no reason to laugh. As soon as you’re feeling better, I’m going to kick your ass so hard, _you_ are going to need a doctor to examine your area down there!”

Jensen smirks. “Okay, okay. Duly noted,” he says. He looks down at Ella again and smiles. He runs his hand up and down her small back and chuckles when she puckers her lips. “I love her so much already.”

“Me too,” Jared says and leans forward to kiss Jensen’s temple. “And I love you, even though you’re a reckless idiot sometimes.”

Jensen grimaces. “Chris told you.”

“He did. It’s not like I gave him much of a choice…” Jared shrugs and Jensen doesn’t even want to know what exactly that means. Jared can be _very_ persuasive.

Jensen feels his eyelids starting to droop again and he yawns. As much as he wants to never let go of Ella ever again, he is still recovering and his body demands rest. And judging by Jared’s weary expression, his husband could do with a few hours of sleep as well.

“I’m going to request some time off work,” Jensen slurs, close to sleep already. He smiles at Jared. “I love you.”

Jared returns the smile and runs his hand through Jensen’s hair. “Get some rest. We’ll be here when you wake up.”

Jensen nods, before his eyes flutter closed. As he drifts off to sleep, he pictures his husband and their beautiful daughter. He can’t wait to spend the rest of his life with them.


End file.
